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Tech riderRev. 7 Oct 2026

Harken

Ch 417.1of 85Social Media Listening Software
  1. 1Runs onself-hosted, Web
  2. 2CostsFree plan
  3. 3Source coverageHacker News, Reddit, Mastodon, Bluesky, Stack Overflow, RSS/Atom, X, YouTube
  4. 4Sentiment analysisYes
  5. 5Historical datalimited
  6. 6API accessYes
6 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: github.com
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The Harken homepage

Overview

Harken tracks mentions of keywords, brands, or products across online sources and brings sentiment and themes into a local dashboard. It can monitor Hacker News, Reddit, Mastodon, Bluesky, Stack Overflow, RSS, X, and YouTube. Sentiment comes from a built-in local lexicon analyzer; optional LLM analysis can label themes using Anthropic, OpenAI, or locally run Ollama. Harken provides a web dashboard and terminal CLI, stores its database in local SQLite, and says it sends no Harken telemetry. Alerts for new negative mentions or configured volume and sentiment thresholds can go to Slack, generic webhooks, or SMTP email. The open-source MIT software is self-hosted and free: free, with no per-seat pricing and API access. Tracking sends search terms to selected source APIs, and Anthropic or OpenAI theme labeling sends a small sample of mention text to that provider. Hacker News and Bluesky work without credentials; other sources may need credentials, configured feeds, or tokens. The quickstart requires Python 3.10 or later, and Docker Compose instructions are included.

Who it is for

Harken suits indie founders, open-source maintainers, and privacy-conscious teams seeking to monitor mentions in a self-hosted dashboard. It also offers optional account roles for viewer, operator, and admin.

What is good

  • Monitors eight listed source types.
  • Local SQLite storage; no Harken telemetry, it says.
  • Optional alerts through Slack, webhooks, or SMTP.
  • Free, open-source MIT software with API access.

What to know first

  • Historical data is limited.
  • Most listed sources require credentials, feeds, or tokens.
  • Tracking sends search terms to selected source APIs.
  • Optional Anthropic or OpenAI labeling sends mention text externally.

Verdict

Harken combines source monitoring, local sentiment analysis, and alerts in a self-hosted tool with a free plan. Readers should weigh limited historical data and the data sent to source APIs or optional LLM providers against its local storage and no-telemetry statement.

Harken plans and pricing

All plans
Free Free Open-source MIT · self-hosted · no per-seat pricing github.com · 7 Oct 2026

Compared on social media listening software

Free plan
Yesgithub.com
Source coverage
Hacker News, Reddit, Mastodon, Bluesky, Stack Overflow, RSS/Atom, X, YouTubegithub.com
Sentiment analysis
Yesgithub.com
Historical data
limitedgithub.com
API access
Yesgithub.com

Facts

Purpose
Harken tracks mentions of keywords, brands, or products across online sources and presents sentiment and themes in a local dashboard.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Sources
Sources include Hacker News, Reddit, Mastodon, Bluesky, Stack Overflow, RSS, X, and YouTube.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Analysis
It scores sentiment with a built-in local lexicon analyzer and groups mentions into themes, with optional LLM analysis.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Interfaces
Harken provides a local web dashboard and a terminal CLI.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Storage and telemetry
Harken stores its database locally in SQLite and says it sends no Harken telemetry.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Optional LLM providers
Optional theme labeling supports Anthropic, OpenAI, or locally run Ollama.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Alerts
It supports Slack or generic webhooks and SMTP email alerts for new negative mentions and configured volume or sentiment thresholds.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Authentication
Optional account mode supports viewer, operator, and admin roles, with salted PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 password hashes and expiring opaque sessions.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Privacy detail
Tracking sends search terms to selected source APIs, and choosing Anthropic or OpenAI for optional theme labels sends a small sample of mention text to that provider.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Source requirements
Hacker News and Bluesky work without credentials; Reddit, Mastodon, RSS, X, and YouTube require credentials, configured feeds, or tokens as applicable.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Compatibility
The quickstart requires Python 3.10 or later and the repository includes Docker Compose instructions.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Intended users
The README describes Harken as suited to indie founders, open-source maintainers, and privacy-conscious teams.github.com · 7 Oct 2026
Support
The project invites issues and pull requests, and says paid tools offer broader hosted operations and vendor support.github.com · 7 Oct 2026

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